


A Secondary Lullaby

by Run



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Babysitting, F/M, Fluff, Married Couple, Married Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 19:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11447079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Run/pseuds/Run
Summary: Magnus took Julia’s hand, entwining their fingers. He was sure she could feel his pulse racing. “If we had one of our own, we wouldn’t have to worry about giving them back to anyone.”Another moment passed between them, not tense but uncommonly silent. Julia turned Magnus’ hand over, tracing the lines of his veins up his forearm. Her voice was soft but she didn’t look at him. “Are you ready to have this conversation?” She asked.-Julia and Magnus babysit their newborn godchild. Discussions and family planning ensue.





	A Secondary Lullaby

Magnus’ body ached.

Business had been booming since the end of the rebellion. It seemed that every soul in Raven’s Roost was in desperate need of a table or an armchair or a crib these days, but heaven forbid it was made anywhere but The Hammer and Tongs. Both Magnus and Stephen had been pulling long hours trying to meet demand, leaving both of them exhausted more days than not.

Rolling his wrists and stretching his fingers, Magnus put down his tools. He leaned his head forward and a series of pops ran down his spine, loud enough to startle Stephen at the opposing desk.

“Damn,” Steven croaked. “How long have we been at it?”

For the first time in hours, Magnus looked out the window. The sun’s last stretch of light was leisurely winding its’ way down The Craftsman’s Corridor; it would be dark in a matter of minutes. Closing time.

He felt a calloused hand come down on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Head upstairs son,” Steven told him. “I’ll lock up.”

“You don’t have to,” Magnus protested, already reaching for his toolbox.

Steven, older but practiced in the subtle art of obstructing Magnus from overworking himself, beat him to the punch. With one hand on the toolbox he used the other to haul Magnus to his feet. “Upstairs. Now. You can pay me back when next I see you.”

Magnus laughed, scrubbing a hand down his face, the fatigue settling in his bones. “Thanks boss.”

“You’re welcome, _partner_ ,” Steven said, as he always did, with just a hint of vexation. Two years of running the shop together and Magnus still acted like he was in his apprenticeship. Stephen had sworn he would break the younger man of the habit but so far nothing had stuck. It seemed that even marrying Julia had only increased Magnus reference for his former mentor. Luckily, that meant he could still get him to listen from time to time.

Steven steered Magnus towards the shop’s backdoor and the entrance to the living quarters upstairs. “Tell you the truth,” he said. “It’s as much for me as it is for you. Julia’s had her hands full all day; I expect she’s waiting for someone to relieve her of duty right about now. Won’t hear the end of it if I send you back half asleep and useless.”

Magnus yawned with Steven’s laugh at his back. “Might be a little late on that one,” he said to himself as he closed the door behind him.

The shop led to a short hallway, the only contents of which were the empty apprentices’ quarters, a washroom, and the staircase leading to the bedrooms upstairs. At the time the Hammer and Tongs was founded, it had been a one level shop. But as it passed down from master to apprentice, family to family, the carpenters expanded into the sky.

Magnus ascended the handmade steps to the second floor he had helped to build.  His residency had started in the apprentice’s quarters, a sparse bedroom connected to the shop, easily accessible. But with Steven’s offer of partnership came the choice to either find his own home in Raven’s Roost or help make this place big enough for three. Hardly a choice, really. Why would he go anywhere else when Julia already lived here?

Their bedroom, formerly just hers, stood at the end of the hallway.  The door was open a crack, and Magnus could hear the faint echo of a lullaby. He pushed the door open slowly, the hinges creaking softly and Magnus told himself that he would grease them later.

Their room was spacious, at least by Magnus’ limited standards. It was big enough for their bed, Julia’s desk, Magnus’ armchair, a bookshelf, and, for the time being, a handmade cradle. Julia sat in the armchair, the sunset at her back, rocking the baby in her arms.

Her lullaby was foreign to Magnus but soothing all the same. He barely caught the last few words _(never fear the fall my love, I will be strong enough to catch you, catch you, I’ll catch you the moon_ ) before Julia caught sight of him in the doorway. Without moving her arms an inch, she inclined her head back, beckoning him in.

The baby, Marlene, was swaddled and sated, fast asleep. A smile crept its’ way across Magnus’ face as he bent down over his wife and the sleeping infant. “Wake her and I’ll gut you,” Julia whispered, barely audible. It was only then that Magnus grasped how run down she looked, the stray hairs flying from her head, the slow droop of her eyes.

Deft as gymnasts, she passed Marlene to Magnus and rose from the armchair. They settled her into her cradle, holding their breaths as she shifted but slept on unperturbed. Magnus could almost feel the relief hitting Julia as she sank onto their bed, eyes closed, back against the headboard. He curled up beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against him and sighed happily.

“I had hoped to see her before bedtime,” Magnus said into Julia’s hair. “But maybe I lucked out if she managed to run you this ragged.”

“Oh you’ll have plenty of time with the little bundle of joy, my love,” Julia chuckled softly. “You get her all day tomorrow. I’m on shop duty.” Her tone suggested that a full day spent over a burning forge would be a veritable vacation from the shift she had just finished.

“Are you okay?” Magnus asked. “Do you want to take tomorrow off entirely?”

When the Burnsides had agreed to watch their newborn godchild while her parents went on a supply run, the newlyweds had expected a few sleepless nights. But it was dawning on Magnus that neither he nor Julia had any conceivable idea what they thought they were doing. He worried, as he often did, that their hearts had gotten the better of their sanity.

But Julia shook her head minutely, cuddling closer. “She’s perfect,” she said, almost awestruck.  “She’s perfect and beautiful and by the end of the week I’m going to want to keep her.”

A feeling, both strange and familiar, stirred in Magnus’ chest. His eyes flicked from the top of Julia’s head, to the cradle in the corner, and back to his wife in quick succession. He caught himself holding her just a little tighter than he meant to. “You could, you know,” he murmured.

Julia tilted her head up to look at her husband, eyebrows raised. “I’ve heard of that,” she said. “I believe it’s called ‘kidnapping’ and I don’t think her parents would much appreciate it, given that they’re our neighbors.”

Magnus laughed then immediately pressed his lips together, eyes on the cradle. A tense moment passed but Marlene stayed quiet. His shoulders relaxed but Julia was still watching him with bewildered amusement.

“Okay, we can’t keep Marlene,” he clarified. “But-“ Magnus took Julia’s hand, entwining their fingers. He was sure she could feel his pulse racing. “If we had one of our own, we wouldn’t have to worry about giving them back to anyone.”

Another moment passed between them, not tense but uncommonly silent. Julia turned Magnus’ hand over, tracing the lines of his veins up his forearm. Her voice was soft but she didn’t look at him. “Are you ready to have this conversation?” She asked.

Slowly pulling his hand free, Magnus curled his fingers under his wife’s chin, tilting her face up to meet his eyes. “Julia Waxmen Burnsides, I’ve wanted to start a family with you from the word ‘go’,” he murmured. “But that’s not the kind of thing you say on a first date.” Julia smirked kindly. Magnus continued.  “But then, with the rebellion- “he said. “There were times when I thought our future was going to end before it even started. Hope was tempting but I had watched so many lives fall apart so quickly. In a second, all those dreams could turn to ash in my mouth.”

Julia turned her head, kissing Magnus’ palm lightly.

“But now,” Magnus said, brushing his fingertips alone his wife’s cheek. “We’re safe. We’re stable. We’re together. And I keep catching myself wondering what our family is going to look like, who our children are going to be-“

Magnus found himself silenced by his wife’s insistent lips. Nimbly, she wound her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down against her. The air rushed out of his lungs, leaving Magnus breathless and giddy. He wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her like they were teenagers all over again. It was only when he thought that he might just float away on a cloud that Magnus heard the quiet stirring from the cot in the corner.

The couple froze on the bed, caught halfway between a giggle and a sigh.  

The stirring subsided and Magnus watched Julia relax onto the bed, her eyes falling closed. Magnus buried his face in her neck, chuckling quietly. “Is that a yes?” He asked.

He felt her hands run up his back, her fingers kneading at the base of his neck. He could feel her chest rising under his, and the exhale across his ear. He knew that breath; hesitant and unsure.

“During the rebellion,” she said, barely above a breath. “On the nights when you were out in the field, I would lay here and try to look through the roof. I would count stars that didn’t exist, make up constellations, and give them mythologies. I had whole stories written in my head. I would tell them to myself over and over again.” The pressure increased against Magnus’ neck, holding him closer to her. “Anything to distract myself from the empty side of the bed.”

“Jules-“ Magnus’ heart had dropped into his stomach. He pulled back to look at his wife but her eyes were past him, staring through the ceiling.

“I’ve had one month with you, Mags,” she said. “One beautiful, wonderful month of knowing you’re always coming home to me. I didn’t know I could be this happy. “Her eyes met his and she smiled. “Tell you the truth, it makes me dizzy sometimes. I feel like I wasn’t designed to be this warm.”

Magnus pressed his forehead against Julia’s, a lump forming in his throat. “I love you so much beautiful,” he said.

“I love you too gorgeous,” she said. “And I think that’s why I’m not ready to start our family just yet.” She brushed her thumb across Magnus’ cheekbone, catching the first drop of water from his eye.  “I want to enjoy being Mrs. Julia Burnsides a little while longer, before I try taking on any more new titles.”

The air rushed out of Magnus’ lungs in a heavy sigh. He pulled back again only to find Julia’s brow furrowed, the corners of her mouth turned down. She rubbed Magnus’ shoulder gently. “Are you horribly disappointed?” 

Magnus had come to realize that there was a wire in his brain that would short-circuit when Julia was upset. He was more than accustomed to the little voice chanting _protect protect protect_ whenever she was nearby, but it all turned to roaring static when she was distressed, the only coherent thought in his mind _fix this fix this fix this now_ and the idea that she thought he could ever be disappointed-

He fell to his side, drawing Julia into his arms and onto his chest. He pressed his lips against the top of her head, reveling in her contented sigh. “This right here-” he whispered. “This is everything I could ever ask for. We could go our whole lives never getting around to having kids and I won’t have missed a damn thing.”

He felt Julia laugh a soft, easy laugh. She turned her face up to look at her husband, eyes bright again. “Oh we’re having kids, make no mistake,” she said as she leaned up to kiss Magnus’ jaw. “When the time comes, we’re going to make such a beautiful baby.” She kissed the corner of his lips. “And another.” She kissed his cheek, just below his ear. “And another.” Her teeth scraped Magnus’ earlobe and he could swear he heard the smile on her lips. “And then we’re going to quit because three is just excessive.”

Magnus’ head swam. He was consumed by a lovely, unfamiliar dizziness. It must have been evident on his face as Julia tweaked his nose gently, pulling him from his quiet reverie. “Have I broken you, husband?”

The warm tension inside him broke and Magnus barked a laugh. No sooner had it left his mouth did a cry ring out from the cradle. Julia’s head fell onto his chest. “Your turn,” she told him and Magnus dutifully rolled off the bed.


End file.
